 CCNU is ranked 3rd together with Fudan University and just after Peking University and Renmin University of China.The predecessor of CCNU is the combination of Huachung University (), Chunghua University () and the Pedagogical College of Zhongyuan University, with Huachung University as the main part.Huachung University was the largest and most influential mission university in south central China, and it developed from Boone College which was founded in 1903.